Whistler’s $18-million expansion will upgrade lifts, improve access

Whistler Mountain's Harmony high-speed quad chairlift will be replaced with a new high-speed, detachable, six-pack chairlift capable of transporting six people on each chair.Whistler Blackcomb

In the Crystal Zone, where skiers use a fixed-grip triple chair, Blackcomb Mountain will add a high-speed quad chairlift.Whistler Blackcomb

Whistler Blackcomb resort announced this week a major renovation that will cost $18 million and improve the experiences of its visiting skiers and boarders.

Whistler Mountain's Harmony high-speed quad chairlift will be replaced with a new high-speed, detachable, six-pack chairlift capable of transporting six people on each chair.

In the Crystal Zone, where skiers use a fixed-grip triple chair, Blackcomb Mountain will add a high-speed quad chairlift.

In the meantime, Whistler Mountain’s Harmony high-speed quad chairlift will be replaced by a new high-speed, detachable chairlift that can transport six people on each chair.

The new high-speed quad chairlift in the Crystal Zone will be 1,708 metres (5,604 feet) in length, with a vertical rise of 535 metres. Skier carrying capacity will increase by 65 per cent over the current lift to 2,400 skiers per hour. The new quad will deliver skiers and riders to the same location as the current triple chair next to the Crystal Hut.

Whistler Blackcomb states the Harmony Six high-speed chairlift “will dramatically improve the uphill capacity by 50 per cent; going from 2,400 skiers per hour to 3,600.”

It’ll service terrain spanning from the edge of the Symphony Amphitheatre a to Glacier Bowl, adjacent to the Peak Express, an area spanning 1,200 acres and known as the Harmony Zone.

Construction on the lifts will begin in the springand will continue through the summer and fall with an expected opening at the beginning of the 2013-14 winter season.

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